Things Are Hard All Over
by silverRaindrops6
Summary: 16 Year old Aria is a runaway. Abused by her mutant-hating family she travels to escape it all, only to find out things are hard everywhere. Good thing people are there to help.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! I wrote this story a long time ago but lost it. I have four chapters ready so all I have to do is type them up and post them! Reviews are welcome but NO flames.**

It was a hard day, but they were always hard. With the rain pouring down so violently it hurt, soaking her clothes and further dampening her spirits. She was grateful, however, for the water making the blood running down her arms and wrists fade to a light pink, it made her feel a little more normal.

Aria felt like crying, besides the gnawing hunger in her stomach, the bruises, sprains, and gashes (some obviously self-inflicted) scattered across her body, she was about to collapse. Just give up and die, what was there for her to live for anyways? Her family hated her, hell, her dad even tried to kill her! Then when she FINALLY escapes, going across the entire country, she realizes that things are brutal everywhere.

Aria could handle the beatings her father doled out, but the one that happened just a short time earlier seemed worse in a way. Whenever her father beat her, it was because she was bad, horrible, and a disgrace to the family. Aria deserved those punishments. But the men who jumped her? They didn't even know her; they had no reason to hurt her, she wasn't confronting them and obviously had no money to steal. They had done it for their own sick pleasure, and that was so much worse.

"I'm sorry." She gasped, a new wave of tears forming, "I'm sorry, I just want to get away." Almost immediately though she snapped out of her self-pity, _'first sign of insanity is talking to yourself'_. Deciding to shut up the voices in her head she focused on looking for a place to crash for the night.

'_Let's see…where to go next? It's NYC so pretty much all the abandoned buildings will be taken, and crazy shit goes down in those places. Parks are a no-go, cops hang around there just trying to bust runaways and no doubt dear old dad has reported me missing to keep up with appearances. Already tried the alley but look what happened! Guess I'm going to have to go to the rooftops then.'_

Not a lot of people thought of sleeping on rooftops. It probably had a lot to do with heights; nevertheless they were an awesome place to hide. You needed to look for the right building though. The building always had to have an open dumpster on one side of it, just in case you needed to get away fast, hitting garbage is always better than hitting cement. That being said the building can't be more than four stories, too hard to get down from and falling that far garbage and cement feel the same. Also, there needs to be a wall…obviously so you don't fall off when sleeping.

But god she hated sleeping on rooftops. Even though they were the best place to sleep it was always freezing, even in the middle of summer. Currently it was early December…cold as hell. Aria rested her head on her backpack and pulled on another pair of socks, she tried to sleep.

It was a few hours later when she woke, the rain had stopped but there was another noise coming near. _'What the hell?'_ she thought. Quickly and swiftly she jumped up and slung her bag over her shoulder. Crouching down to hide herself more she stared intently at the ladder. _'Please don't come up here. Please don't come up here. God don't let them come up here! I'll just freak out and then…'_, too late. An old, ragged man jumped up from the top rung of the rusted ladder, smiling at her in a deranged sort of way.

"Hey honey!" Surprisingly he wasn't drunk. "Saw ya come up here! Thought ya might need a little company, know what I'm saying?" God his laugh was gross, smoked a little too much meth maybe?

"Go away, now." Aria shot back, putting the menace she could into her voice.

Then Mr. Stinky pulled out a knife and shit hit the fan.

Coming out of her crouched position she sucker-punch him in the face. But he was a big man and she was about 20 pounds underweight and looked it, he tackled her and pinned her wrists down against the gravel. Using her size to her advantage she tucked her legs to her chest and pushed him off. Running the few feet to the ladder she grabbed onto the top and scaled down, really just falling and catching herself a few times on the ladder. When Aria hit the ground she rolled and stood up, bad move. Having not eaten a proper meal in months her body was too weak for this kind of exertion, the world started spinning as she stumbled forward only to hit the alley wall a second later, she was all turned around.

"Haha, you playing hard to get?" Creeper taunted as he made his was down the ladder. Aria desperately tried to calm her beating heart; she knew what she had to do. She had to get closer to him, going against all of her instincts she stayed still as he made his way closer; this was the hardest part, facing one of your biggest fears and knowing that you can't run away. He was finally close enough to touch now so she forced herself out of freeze-mode and grabbed his face, hard. A look of confusion spread across his face, then it spazamed as electricity pulsed from her into him. Het hit the ground before Aria did, she tried her best to stay awake but it was really hard and she knew she had to get somewhere safe. Crawling across the alley onto the sidewalk she limped about a block east then collapsed behind a dumpster.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up!**

Aria woke again, this time on her own. Judging fom the sky it was probabl six or so in the morning. She didn't like waking up this early but living on the streets really didn't help her insomnia.

Deciding what to do for the day was pretty simple, stick to the crowds to avoid attention from cops, eat whatever you can find, and keep moving no matter what. She didn't know how long she could keep this up, the constant energy it tookjust to stay alive left her nearly emaciated. There were dark circles beneath the girl's eyes that had been there for years but are getting worse every day. Her plain brown hair is wet from the rain, but still filthy, and her clothes are less than ideal for fall in New York. Something had to give, something had to change, it was obvious by the growing dizziness and fatigue that grew each day she wouldn't last much longer.

As much as she hated to admit it, Aria had resorted to "borrowing" things from others, mostly all food and caffeine pills from the pharmacy. She knew that in her condition the caffeine could harm her already shaky heart, but when there was no food left it helped a little to take the edge off.

After she got up and tried to make herself presentable she looked into her handy-dandy backpack to see what she had left. Two bottles of caffeine pills, a few packets of those saltine crackers you get from resteraunts, ten dollars, an extra sweatshirt and a pair of clean underwear, hairbrush a tank top, and an apple swiped from someons yard. Supplies were running low. Cursing herself Aria knew that the day was going to be used primarily to gather new things, she needed more food and one pair of underwear was not going to cut it. She should probably get some socks too since hers had holes in them, new shoes would also be nice but it was too much risk.

Deciding to have the apple and a packet of saltines for breakfast she stumbled into the entrance of the alley and immersed herself into the throng of people. No one would care, no one would notice here, it was a sense of relief almost…feeling like you could just disappear.

(*)-(*)-(*)

The Prince of Thieves groaned as he was awoken from his deep sleep. Yesterday he went on a mission with Jean and Scott, Wolverine was supposed to go but that would have been awkward for all of them. Now he had the Professor's voice in his head telling him to go to his office immediately. Well he was up already, might as well earn his keep.

"Good morning Remy, how did you sleep?" Smiled the Professor

"Good for te time I was able to." He mumbled, the Prof just raised his eyebrows and got down to buisiness.

"Cerebro has found another mutant in New York, from what we could gather her powers have already manifested but they are very unstable. She is not only a danger to herself but also a danger to others, I need you to talk to her."

"Talk to da petite or kidnap her?"

"Talk to her of course, but she needs to understand what is happening to her. She is probably more than very frightened and has definitely been on the run for a long time, which indicates abuse."

"So why don' you send Ro or Jeanie?'

"Because they haven't been out there like you have, and if we are correct about the abuse then that will just give you two more common ground."

"Or make the poor girl even more frightened."

The Prof sighed, "There is always that risk, but I believe the pros outweigh the cons."

Now it was Remy's turn to sigh, "I'll go, but I can't guarantee not'in."

"That is all I ask."

(*)-(*)-(*)

It was nightfall now, and though she managed to sneak some more crackers she wasn't very successful otherwise, in fat Aria almost got caught at a clothing store. The sky was threatening to dump water on her again, even though her clothes were still damp from last night which was making her shake harder.

She pulled on her other sweatshirt for more insulation but even that wasn't enough. Leaning her head back in a hopeless state she willed herself to die on her own terms, not someone else's.

She stood up suddenly as a figure approached her…with his hands up? What the…

"Hey dere Petite, it's ok now, not gonna hurt you." The hell was going on?

"I just wanna talk t' you ok? Name's Remy, what's yours?" The figure continued.

"Wh-why are you here?" Her teeth were chattering and she cursed herself for sounding as vulnerable as she felt.

Remy sighed, he didn't want to freak her out but she needed an explanation.

"I know wat you can do petite." Immediately Aria backed up, but was too weak to run. Seeing this Remy moved closer so she could see his face.

"Non non, don be scared! I'm a mutant too, jus't wanna help you is all!"

"Why?"

"'Cause I know what it's like to be livin off te streets, alone and cold. Come on now, please don' run out on me! Teres a school for peoplee like us, they've been good ta me and they wanna help you too." He dared to walk closer and kneeled down in front of where she collapsed from fatigue. Noticing how bad she was shaking and the blueness of her lips he took off his coat and covered her with it.

"Do ya trust me?" He looked into her eyes trying to find an answer but all he saw was pain. She looked nervous, uncertain.

"Listen, we need ta get you outta those wet jackets, they're only gonna make you colder ok?" She slowly nodded, finally giving in. Remy gently sat her up and unzipped her sweatshirts, his eyes grew hard at all the bruises and gashes littering her arms.

"What happened to ya?" She just looked away and her shaking grew. Remy quickly wrapped his coat around her while making a hasty examination of her injuries, they were bad, he just wrapped her tighter in his jacket.

"Can ya let me help you?" Aria just closed her eyes and nodded so he picked her up knowing that she was too weak to walk, her eyes widened and her body tensed.

"Shh, shh." He mumbled, "It's alright. Gonna take ya to the car ok?" Both he and the Professor agreed that it would be less traumatizing for her to ride in a car rather than a jet.

For a split second Aria thought he was going to kill her, but the way he carefully held her, how he readily gave up his expensive-looking coat, hell even his eyes were trusting. She willed herself to relax in the arms of this kind stranger, telling herself that everything would be ok.

**Reviews would be appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this took me so long! Thanks for all the reviews!**

By the time they reached the car Aria was burning up and trembling again. Remy gently deposited her in the passenger's seat and turned up the heater full blast. He guessed she had hypothermia and a mild infection from those cuts.

"What's your name honey?" He asked soothingly trying to keep her awake.

"Ar-Aria." She chattered

He smiled, "Pretty name."

"Where are we going?"

"Dat school I was telling you about." A thought suddenly struck her

"How did you find me?"

"I tink da Professor can answer dat better than I can Cher."

"Who's the Professor?"

"Head o' da school Cher."

"But-"

"Hey now don' get yourself all worked up, I promised you were safe non'? How bout ya tell me where ya from?"

Aria paused, she didn't really want to give all her secrets away but she guessed that he had already saw the injuries she had and came to a conclusion…might as well talk.

"Chicago, I ran away but I think you already knew that."

"Well petite I tink it be pretty obvious, on da streets with no one to look out for ya."

"Yeah, I see your point." She said leaning her head back and looking out at the city lights.

"Mind if I ask why ya ran away?" Gambit knew that this was a touchy subject but he needed to find out.

"You saw my arms."

"Dat I did, I also saw fresh ones."

"Got jumped by some guys, not a big deal."

"Didn't you try ta fight dem off?"

"Tried to, but it was like my…powers…were gone." He nodded, this was normal is a mutant was new and untrained.

"We're gonna get ya looked over ok?"

"I thought we were going to that school?" Remy smirked

"A school full of teenage mutants, don ya tink dat will bring about a couple a injuries?" For the first time since he met her she smiled, it was a little smile, but it made him feel warm inside. She laughed a little which left her gasping in pain. Remy looked at her with worry and saw her cough up blood into her hand; he swerved and pulled to the side of the road.

"You ok der Cher?" He pulled some napkins from the glove compartment and helped her. After the coughing fit was over he pulled out a water bottle and handed it to her. She looked at it suspiciously and he frowned in disappointment.

"It aint drugged petite, see it's unopened." He held it out to her again and she accepted it, albeit reluctantly, and Remy started the car again.

"Almost der, just hang on k?" She nodded and gave him another small smile.

After another agonizingly long ten minutes the mansion came into view. Remy pressed a code into the gate and they were in the grounds. Aria winced as she saw the gates lock behind them, she felt trapped. Turning her attention back to in front of her she saw an enormous garage door open with about ten different cars parked inside.

"What is this place?" Remy pulled her door open and helped her out like a gentleman

"Welcome to Xavier's school for mutants. Now we're gonna get you fixed up real good, da Professor will meet us later.

Having no choice but to fully trust him Aria stuck by Remy's side as they made their way inside the imposing building. It didn't come as a shock to her that the inside was just as beautiful as the outside; her old house had been the same way.

As the pair made their way through the maze of hallways he saw her start to shiver again, this time from fear, so he gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his side. He knew that this was a risky move and that it had a good chance of making her bolt but she had trusted him this far and he figured it was worth the risk, besides, he had a feeling that she hadn't had any 'good' physical contact in her life. Relief washed through him when she responded well, bundling up against him as if he were her lifeline.

"It's gonna be okay petite, I'll watch out for ya here." He murmured feeling her relax even more, in fact she was so relaxed now that he was afraid she would fall asleep on him.

"Don' fall asleep before da doc looks ya over Cher." Aria nodded sleepily in response, leaning on him more and wrapping her arms around his waist. He could feel her ribs through her layers of clothes, it made his blood boil.

Eventually they made it to the elevator and got in. As if expecting their arrival (which it did) the elevator was toasty warm, bringing life back into the teenager's dead eyes. Strangely she felt calm as they descended into the basement levels of the mansion; she rationalized that they wouldn't go through all this trouble just to kill her.

Arriving to the right level the two started down the brightly lit hallway until Remy stopped at a large metal door, it automatically opened to reveal a doctor's office that stunk of antiseptic.

"Hello my dear," Came a friendly voice to her right, she peeked around Remy to find…a fuzzy blue guy? He wasn't kidding when he said this place was full of mutants.

"How are you feeling? I suspect you are very cold considering the storm outside, how about I get you an electric blanket?" She hid back behind Remy, who gave an apologetic look to Dr. McCoy.

"She be a little on da shy side."

"Ah, well that's alright. Now then how about you two take a seat and I kind go grab that blanket." He said smiling at Gambit's charge. This situation was similar to when Logan brought Jubilee here.

When Aria still didn't move Remy gently guided her to the cot in the corner of the room hoping that it would make her feel better if she had her back to a wall and could see her surroundings. She obediently sat down and hunched her shoulders.

"When will I meet the Professor?" She asked

"After da doctor checks you over and we get ya a lil more comfortable."

She nodded and sized up Dr. McCoy as he came back with a blanket. Plugging it into the wall he held it out to her while remaining a safe distance away. Deciding that if Remy trusted the furry blue guy then she could trust him too.

"How about we do the medical history first? Can you tell me your first name? You don't need to give me your last name if you are not comfortable but it would be peculiar to write Jane Doe on your file." He joked trying to put her at ease.

"Aria." She mumbled, he smiled.

"Excellent name. Now Aria do you have any pre-existing medical conditions or family history of any illnesses?"

"No."

"Alright, are you in any pain right now?"

"My ribs hurt a lot, and I have a lot of cuts on my torso, bruises too." The doctor nodded,

"Do you mind if I look them over?" She looked nervous but agreed nonetheless.

He first checked her vitals and noted that her heart beat was irregular but her blood pressure was regular. Then he drew blood, not a lot because he didn't want her to get too dizzy. He then had her lie down and felt her ribs; they were bruised but not broken. Bruises and cuts were next, most of the cuts were infected and the bruising was deep.

"I am going to have to wrap your ribs and then treat and bandage your cuts since they are infected. Your blood pressure is normal but your heart rate is abnormal, when I get back your blood test results I will let you know. Before I patch you up though I think it would be a good idea for you to take a shower before I wrap you like a mummy." He joked

"Ok, umm where is it?" He pointed to the bathroom and gave her a couple of towels and a pair of light blue scrubs to change into.

Easing off the table she made it to the bathroom without any assistance, locking the door behind her. Aria was grateful for the opportunity to get clean again.


End file.
